Lawyer 2 Lawyer

The Clean Air Act also known as (CAA) is a comprehensive Federal law that regulates all sources of air emissions. The 1970 CAA authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and the environment. In this episode of our Environmental Law series, host Craig Williams is joined by Trish McCubbin, a retired Professor of Environmental Law at the Southern Illinois University School of Law, as they spotlight CAA, its impact, progress, and how we as a society can reduce air pollution.

On September 30, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 2 (SB 2), also known as the Kenneth Ross, Jr. Police Decertification Act of 2021, establishing a statewide system to decertify or suspend officers who have committed serious misconduct. So what constitutes police misconduct? And how is SB 2 shaping police departments? In this episode, host Craig Williams is joined by guest Marshal Arnwine, Jr., an Advocate for the Criminal Justice Program at the ACLU of Northern California. Craig and Marshal discuss SB 2, decertification due to police misconduct, transparency in police departments, and the impact on states' decertification/revocation laws. Mentioned in this Episode: Police Decertification in California: How Does it Work? Protect SB 2 Press Conference (Bradford, 2021) Coalition Opposition to SB 2 TBL: Contact Information

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) provided a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats both domestically and abroad. According to the Center for Progressive Reform, at an April 2023 hearing of the Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee of the House Natural Resources Committee, the conservative majority pushed no less than three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions aimed at blocking ESA protections. In this episode of our Environmental Law series, host Craig Williams is joined by professor of environmental law, Robert L. Fischman from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, as they spotlight ESA, its impact, and ESA reform.

According to the League of Women Voters, “Voting is a fundamental principle, and all Americans deserve the equal opportunity to make their voices heard in our democracy.” Yet over the years, various states have suppressed voters from reaching the ballot box through various methods like strict ID laws, purging voter rolls, and cutting early voting.  Gerrymandering, defined as “to manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class” has taken center stage when it comes to voting in elections. Just recently, SCOTUS decided to take up a South Carolina racial gerrymandering case, a lower court decision that struck down a congressional district in South Carolina as an illegal racial gerrymander. This case will be heard by SCOTUS next term. In this episode, host Craig Williams joins guest, professor Ruth Greenwood, Director of the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School. Craig and Ruth discuss election law, voting rights, gerrymandering, and SCOTUS and the South Carolina racial gerrymandering case.

According to the EPA, “The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 -- otherwise known as CERCLA or Superfund -- provides a Federal "Superfund" to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites as well as accidents, spills, and other emergency releases of pollutants and contaminants into the environment. Through CERCLA, the EPA was given power to seek out those parties responsible for any release and assure their cooperation in the cleanup.” In this episode of our Environmental Law series, host Craig william joins Professor of environmental law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, Katrina F. Kuh, as they spotlight CERCLA and discuss the origin and history, purpose, and impact.

On April 6th, 2023, ProPublica released a report titled, Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire, detailing Justice Clarence Thomas’ failure to report years of lavish trips paid for by Republican billionaire Harlan Crow. Justice Thomas’ actions led U.S. Senate Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin and other Senate Judiciary Committee Democratic members to send a letter to Chief Justice Roberts inviting him to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify at a public hearing regarding Supreme Court ethics reform. Chief Justice Roberts declined the invitation to appear.    So are we looking at major judicial ethics violations here at the hands of a Supreme Court Justice? Or was Justice Thomas simply complying with established norms?In this episode, host Craig Williams joins guest Dean James J. Alfini, professor of law from South Texas College of Law Houston, to spotlight Justice Clarence Thomas, his recent ethics scandal, judicial ethics, the potential investigation into his actions, and calls for new ethics rules for SCOTUS. Mentioned in this episode: Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire by ProPublica Judicial Ethics, Misconduct, and Reform

Back on Oct. 21, 1976, President Gerald Ford signed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) into law, highlighting that this law “provides sound state and local programs to deal with ever increasing amounts of municipal solid wastes generated in this country.” In this episode of our Environmental Law series, we spotlight the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act better known as RCRA. We discuss regulations, goals, importance, impact, and how far we have come.

Artificial Intelligence has become one of the most discussed topics of our day. With the introduction of sophisticated chatbots like OpenAIs ChatGPT 3.5 and ChatGPT 4, many have predicted that we're on the verge of a revolution in terms of how many industries operate, including the legal industry. So what do firms and attorneys need to do to stay ahead of the incoming AI wave? In this episode, host Craig Williams joins guest John Villasenor, professor of electrical engineering, law, public policy, and management at UCLA, to discuss AI and the law, the impact, and what the future holds for the profession under this new AI revolution.

This year, we have created a new Environmental Law series on Lawyer 2 Lawyer, where wewill cover cradle to grave treatment of chemicals and our laws on environmental biology. In this episode, host Craig Williams joins Mark Squillace from the University of Colorado Law School, to discuss the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), wetlands protection, and habitat conservation plans.

On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio starting a fire which spewed toxic fumes into the air, driving surrounding residents out of their homes. Since then, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a legally binding notice ordering Norfolk Southern to handle and pay for all necessary cleanup after this freight train derailment led to an intentional release of vinyl chloride. So what could be the long-term impact on residents? What about the air, soil, and water? And what needs to change in our laws to prevent another environmental disaster like this from happening again on our railroads? In this episode, host Craig Williams joins guest David Raack to discuss the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio and the potential environmental legal issues that could stem from this disaster.